The Order Reborn
by bradwart
Summary: Years after the fall of the Sith Lords, Bastila, the Exile, and the rest of the Jedi struggle to rebuild the order, while a new Supreme Chancellor continues his power grab. Amidst it all, a young member of Republic Intelligence is placed on a mission that may change his life...or kill him. A fresh AU adventure.
1. Prologue

**A/N: This will be a fairly long story, if it pans out. Definitely AU, but I'll try to stick to canon when possible. **

**Story takes place post-KotOR II, and ignores any developments made in TOR or any novels since then. Perhaps in the future I'll actually get around to playing TOR. **

**Star Wars KotOR: The Order Reborn  
**

**Coruscant-Four Years Previously. **

The sounds of the Grand Convocation Chamber of the Galactic Senate were unusually boisterous as the new Supreme Chancellor entered the room.

Lorne Danakar had joined the Republic Senate three years ago as the junior representative from Corellia. Arriving with no allies, no wealth, and no real power, he had attained all three with such rapidity that nearly every being in the galaxy now knew his name. A man of average height, Danakar was not an imposing figure. There was a hunch to his shoulders, and his face was mostly covered by the breathing apparatus required by his condition. Had these been his only traits, the Senator would have remained in obscurity.

The main reason he had risen to power was his voice and talent for oratory. Some of the most jaded, stubborn individuals had been known to change their minds after hearing his reasoning on a debate. Couple that with his piercing blue eyes, and tenacity, and he was a force few could match.

As he finally reached the center of the chamber, the applause stilled somewhat, as Lorne raised his hands to make a speech, which would be transmitted live across the Core Worlds, and recorded to be replayed in the Outer Regions later.

"Fellow Senators of the Republic, I come before you today, humbled, by your trust in my abilities. It is here I will make a solemn pledge to the people of the Republic. I pledge to restore our Republic to its former glory. This is the Republic that defeated Exar Kun! This is the Republic that defeated the Mandalorians! This _is_ the Republic that crushed Revan and Malak's Sith Empire! And this is the Republic that will continue to stand against all threats, no matter what they be, for ten thousand years!"

The chamber roared, and Lorne smiled behind his breath mask. He had them now.

"Let us no longer be a Republic of squabbling, of petty disputes. Let us rebuild the Jedi Order! Let us rebuild the Republic Navy! Let us stop these terrible wars _before_ they happen!" He paused to allow them to cheer a bit more, and then continued.

"Every one of us must be prepared to sacrifice all that's necessary in order for this to come about. What I am proposing will be _difficult_. It will be painful, and it will take time. Some liberties we may have taken for granted will, out of need, be curtailed. I ask that you _remember_ that all these sacrifices are for the good of the Republic!"

With that, and after yet another round of applause, the Chancellor turned and left the chamber.

Leaning on the railing of one of the upmost observation platform, Bastila Shan frowned. She turned to face her companion. "'Some liberties we have taken for granted will, _out of need_, be curtailed'? Exactly _what_, I wonder, does the Chancellor mean by that?"

Next to her, Rachel Antilles shook her head. "I think we'll find out eventually. But we've got to work with the man. You know the offer he's made us."

Bastila frowned. _Yes, she did know the offer_. Danakar had come to see them personally.

The remnants of the Jedi had been located on Dantooine, in the old Enclave. The world was still small enough that they didn't attact much attention. Danakar had come and revealed part of his grand plan to them. At least, the parts concerning them.

He had told them that the Republic had allocated massive sums of credits to rebuilding the Jedi Temple on Coruscant. Asked them to return, to be part of his plan to rebuild the Republic to its former glory. Told them that the Senate had authorized the creation of the Jedi Council again, and that their position as enforcers of the peace was essential to the galaxy.

_He certainly has everyone else convinced. _she thought. The applause had only now started to abate as the Senators began to disperse.

"Well, we'll accept the offer. We really can't afford not too. But I still don't trust him." Bastila said.

"That may be, but unless we have more than mere distrust, we're obligated to work with him. His intentions seem honest enough, and you yourself have admitted that he meant what he told us. Focus on the present for the moment. Come on, let us take the speeder to the Temple site. We need to be on hand to direct some of the repairs."

Rachel turned and began to walk away. Bastila lingered for a moment longer by the railing, taking in the scene.

_No,_ she thought. While she hadn't sensed any deception from him then, it didn't mean he hadn't been deceiving them. There was something about the Chancellor that bugged her. She couldn't quite say what it was, but she didn't think he'd told them the whole truth. He was still hiding something...


	2. Chapter 1

_**Three years later...**_

**Chapter One. **

Alex Landgraff stepped off the lift and walked out onto the training floor. Looking around for a moment to get his bearings, he spotted the person he was looking for and began to walk in that direction.

It had only been six months since he had graduated from the Academy. He'd had to take the final test twice, but the resulting career with Republic Intelligence had proved to be more than rewarding. But now he was back, it seemed.

The message had been unexpected. His former instructor, Jorath Binns, had called him while he had been on a mission to Mannan, investigating the disappearance of the ambassador. It was a high profile case, and he'd been part of the team hand-picked by the Supreme Chancellor to investigate.

So for his instructor to call him, and tell him that he was to return to Coruscant immediately was wrong, somehow. At first he'd doubted it, but the order had come in on his datapad just a minute after the call, authorizing him to take a small shuttle on a direct line to Coruscant. But whoever had authorized the order had far more power than his instructor.

Walking up to Jorath, he smiled. "Okay, now what's the big emergency?"

Jorath didn't return his smile. "Lieutenant Landgraff, you've been ordered to report to the Senate building. Corporal Wallace is waiting downstairs in shuttle bay seven to take you there."

"The Senate building? Who wants to see _me?_" he asked. The investigation on Mannan had faced some setbacks, but it hadn't been going _that_ poorly_._

"I cannot say. But do leave your sidearm with the Corporal." Jorath replied, turning and beginning to walk away, leaving Alex there to wonder exactly what he'd done to catch the attention of someone.

The speeder ride was short. While the Academy was hardly close to the legislative district, the speeder had been cleared to use the emergency traffic lanes.

He'd tried to make conversation with the Corporal, but it would have been just as effective to talk to the speeder.

They arrived, and, as instructed, he left his sidearm with Wallace, before he turned and walked inside the building.

A security official was waiting inside. He was subjected to an inspection, and then whisked off to an elevator.

Ten minutes later, he was taken to a room and told to wait there.

He took a moment to get his bearings. This wasn't some random room, this was for Senators. The table was polished Alderaanian marble, and the floors appeared to be the same. An elegant crystal chandelier hung in the center of the room. Signs of opulence were everywhere. At least, that's what the casual observer saw. His training revealed that there weren't any security cameras, at least not any obvious ones, and that the doors and walls were soundproofed. Clearly, this was a room where one could talk freely.

Before he had a chance to look anything else over, the door opened again.

His eyes first noticed the lightsaber at the hip of one of the two women. He wasn't an expert by any means, but it looked longer than usual. Double-bladed, if he had to guess. Glancing up, he studied their faces for a second until he had a better idea of who they were.

The second woman was instantly recognizable. Jane Shepard was the Vice Chair of the Republic, the woman that some said had been kept as a check against Danakar, while others said she was there as a bone thrown to the Core Worlds after having a Chancellor from the Outer Rim. It was said that she and Danakar maintained a working relationship, which, in Coruscanti speak, meant they despised each other.

He wasn't certain of the identity of the Jedi, but given the fact that she was walking alone with Shepard meant she was probably one of the Masters on the Jedi Council.

And whatever these two wanted with him couldn't be good. Politicians and Jedi together, in what seemed to be an off-the-record meeting was never a sign of a safe assignment. Alex wasn't opposed to career advancement, he just preferred it to not involve the likelihood of death or worse, political embarassment.

His thinking was cut short by Shepard's voice. "Lieutenant Landgraff, please, sit down." she said, in her crisp Corellian accent.

Still uncomfortable, he settled into a chair near the head of the table.

She continued. "Lieutenant, you're here for one reason today. For some time Master Shan and I have been collaborating on an investigation, and we've been looking for one more person to add to our..." she trailed off, considering her words "..._team."_

Master Shan-_Bastila, that was her name, _he thought-said nothing.

Shepard made no sign of whether this irritated her or not-though Landgraff suspected it did-and continued speaking.

"We have been looking for some time, but felt that most of the members of Republic Intelligence were either not up to our required standard, or would have seen the request merely as a chance for career enhancement. Your psychoprofile suggests that the latter is unlikely, and as for the former, it was a small detail in a report you filed on the Manaan investigation that caught my eye. You mentioned that the vice-ambassador had apparantly been accessing several secure terminals with a clearance far above his own."

Alex remembered mentioning the detail in his report, though his superiors had dismissed it. Why that would be of interest to the Vice Chair was..._wait, _he thought, _unless she gave him access_.

Her next words confirmed his hypothesis "You discovered that despite the best efforts of my office to conceal that information. Without going too much into detail, he is at that embassy to monitor all doings, particularly those of the Ambassador." She leaned forward slightly "And, though I feel this to be slightly un-necessary, that information _does not leave this room_, do you understand, Lieutenant?"

She needn't have bothered, but there almost seemed to be a bit of worry in her voice. Clearly, this was a woman with trust issues. _Then again, for someone in her position she's probably been burned by a loudmouth more than once_, he thought.

He felt that he had been silent long enough. "Very well, Madam Vice-Chair. Now, would you mind telling me exactly what you need me for?"

Bastila chuckled. "A man of action-just what we need. What the Vice-Chair is getting at is that we need you to help us track down some information."

"Information, good. What kind of information?" he responded.

"We need you to find out something about the Supreme Chancellor." Shepard said, frowning at the Jedi.

"Something?" Alex replied, letting the word hang in the air.

"That's the problem." Bastila said, crossing her arms. "We don't know what, exactly. For years now, I've had doubts about Danakar's intentions, but it was only last year that I discovered I wasn't alone in my doubts." She glanced at Shepard.

"Lieutenant, I've been in politics for twenty-six years. I knew something was wrong the minute Danakar began to rise to power. Rags-to-riches, golden boy, those things I can understand. But the problem is that none of those were what happened there. It was as if one minute, he was a non-entity, and the next he was on the rise to becoming Chancellor. Someone, or something contributed to that. I could live with that, but Danakar's lust for ever-expansive powers is getting out of hand. Next week, the Senate will vote to grant him power to directly control all financial allocations from now on. That's not how it's supposed to be!"

It was clear she wanted blood. _Or rather,_ _m__ore like a leash, something to keep the Chancellor in check and regain some of her former prestige_, he thought. "So, you want me to dig up dirt on the Supreme Chancellor? I mean, I can't pretend to like everything he's done, but you are asking an awful lot here. I prefer being able to sleep soundly at night."

"If you're referring to granting you immunity, I can't offer that. However, should something go bad, I can promise you I will do everything in my power to keep you alive, at the very least."

"And the Jedi will extend an offer of asylum should the need arise. The Council does not know of this, but I can sway enough of them that it shouldn't be an issue." Bastila added.

"Very well, but I'll need a small team." he said, standing.

"We've already picked two men to help you. They're men you can trust. And they'll report to you. You'll also have a non-descript freighter at your disposal. Here are the codes for the launch bay." Shepard handed him a flimsi.

He nodded and started to walk out of the room.

"Lieutenant?"

He turned around. Shepard had been the one who had spoken.

"Good luck. And thank you."

"May the Force be with you." Bastila added.

Nodding, Alex opened the door again and returned to where Corporal Wallace was waiting.

**That's it for the first chapter. Bear with me if there are any inconsistancies-I wrote the first five or six paragraphs of the prologue in 2009, and while I've got the story mostly set now, I'm still making sure everything will pan out as it's supposed to. Reviews, please! They're like fuel for authors!**


	3. Chapter 2

**First off, thanks to all the reviews and PM's. This will be dedicated to the Guest, Boris, The Writing Geek, and Anomandaris90. Also, I noted that I hadn't included the usual disclaimers in the previous chapters. My apologies to the House of Mouse. I don't own Star Wars. **

**Storyboard is pretty set now, which should help the story stay consistent. This will be arguably the longest (or something close to it) story I've ever done.**

**Chapter Two**

The speeder bobbed slightly as Alex brought it down to the warehouse in The Works. This was Coruscant's relatively new industrial district, and there were many warehouses that were still listed as "For Rent". It was one of these that, if the flimsi was correct, held the ship and crew he was going to take with him.

_There it is!_ he thought. The doors on the roof opened just wide enough for the speeder to drop in before they closed again.

The repulsorlifts stirred up the dust on the ground, which then sparkled with the light coming in through the windows along the roof. Alex cut power to the speeder and hopped out, coughing slightly.

In the corner was a small Core Galaxy Systems freighter. _Dynamic_-class, if he remembered correctly. It looked slightly battered, but seemed to be flyable, at least.

A man came walking down the ramp. "Lieutenant? Good, we've been waiting for you." He walked across to Landgraff and extended his hand.

"Admiral Onasi, a pleasure."

Landgraff had only met the Admiral on a few occasions while he was still the head of Republic Intelligence. His mantra had been "Trust no-one. Question everything." which was something Alex had tried to apply in his methods. Onasi's retirement the year prior had come as something of a shock to everybody.

"Lieutenant, I understand you were part of that last class of cadets I oversaw. Good to have you aboard. We don't have long to find what the Vice Chair is looking for. Let's get moving-I'll brief you more fully once we're in hyperspace."

They moved inside the freighter. The ramp raised up, and the roof slid open. Alex heard the repulsorlifts engage, and then the whine of the ion engines as the ship shot into orbit.

...

"Alex, the name's Atton Rand. Onasi here tells me you've been put on our special little 'team' here."

They were seated around the table in the main hold of the freighter.

As he shook Atton's hand, he sized him up. Slim, yet strong. He looked to have seen a lot of combat at some point-there was some pretty serious scarring on one arm.

"Atton, you don't have to have such a negative attitude about the whole thing." Carth said, half in jest and half-serious.

"Me? Negative? No, I _love_ being here. _Especially_ since I was blackmailed!" he snapped back.

"Blackmailed?" Alex asked, knowing a story was coming.

"Yes, blackmailed! That Bastila needed a pilot, so she had her politician friends do a little digging and they found out I still do some smuggling runs from time to time. She threatened to turn me over to the regional authorities if I didn't fly the ship for you two."

Carth snorted. "Oh please, you know you were bored to death with your 'smuggling' runs. Transporting gizka to Nar Shaddaa is hardly exciting work. Admit it; you practically begged to come along."

Now Atton grinned slightly. "Well, maybe it wasn't really blackmail...anyway, now that you're here, Alex, Grandpa Carth can finally tell us what it is we're after."

Ignoring this, Carth pressed a few controls on the table. The overhead lighting dimmed, and a holoimage of Chancellor Danakar appeared on the table.

"We're looking for information regarding any illicit dealings perpetrated by Chancellor Danakar. We're also looking for information regarding his origins. He claims to have been a refugee from Telos earlier in his life, and that he came to live on Dantooine after that. It's a nice, convenient story, as the planetary databases were destroyed, meaning there wouldn't be any way to verify that. At least, officially. There are backups that aren't public. I checked them myself previously, and there are no records of _any_ Lorne Danakar having ever lived on Telos. Not even a visitor's record."

Alex frowned. "There are backups of Telos's databases? Where?" He hadn't heard of any record, and he was generally well informed.

Surprisingly, the answer came from Atton. "There was a Jedi Academy stationed in the planetary irrigation control center. They had access to the planetary databases as a matter of course, and when the planet was bombarded, the library there made a full backup of the data. That information was kept private by the Jedi Master who was there, and when the existence of the data was revealed to the full Council, it was decided not to publically reveal that information."

Carth raised an eyebrow.

"What? I have my sources, same as you, Carth." Atton replied.

"Sources being a certain Jedi Master who has a soft spot for you, you mean." Carth responded.

"I _may_ have heard something from her, yes." Atton said, poker-faced.

Landgraff shifted in his chair. "Okay, so back to the topic. Where are we going to start looking?"

Carth smiled slightly. "Dantooine, of course. Planet of farmers and Jedi."

...

The wind whisked the sand along the desert floor, blowing dust in waves and causing the figure on the speeder to place a tattered piece of robe across his mouth and nose. The dust, combined with the heat, were enough to dissuade almost any traveler from making the journey.

But the man on the speeder was no ordinary traveler. It was not an ordinary desire that drove him. Because of that, he was willing to endure what ever it took to fulfill the task he had set before him.

After hours of searching, the object of his visit was before him. All that remained was to enter and claim what he needed.

And yet, he hesitated. Shadows of the past, perhaps? _No_, he thought, _I am merely weary of surprises._ And yet…he couldn't quite bring himself to believe that. Not entirely.

He jumped off the speeder, looking up into Korriban's darkening skies. A storm would be here soon. The only thing he could do would be to make his search fast, or face being stuck here until it cleared.

That last thought was not an option. Time was too precious.

Was it chance that he thought of _her_, just at that moment? She was certainly precious, and his quest had taken away years from what could have been. "_What will be"_ he said to himself.

The man strode toward the door, pressed the panel to open it, and went inside.

**Sorry this has taken so long! The truth is that I don't write as well on a desktop, but I've reacquired a laptop, and I felt the desire to finish this chapter. Thankfully I sketched out the outline for this months ago, so I knew where I needed to go (otherwise this may have gone **_**way**_** off track from where I intended.)**

**Read and review, if you would!**


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